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With help from Darius Dixon, Adam Snider, Andrew Restuccia and Erica Martinson

McCARTHY VOTE TODAY (ROUND 2): At least four Republican senators plan to attend today’s second attempt at a committee vote on Gina McCarthy’s nomination to lead the EPA — including boycott ringleader David Vitter. But McCarthy, a crucial figure for President Barack Obama’s strategy on climate change, still faces a tough road to confirmation. Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt has a hold on her, and it’s unclear whether she could get 60 votes on the Senate floor if the GOP stages a filibuster.

Last week’s no-show by all eight Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee prevented Democrats from holding a scheduled panel vote on McCarthy, leading to days of recriminations about GOP “obstructionism” and EPA secrecy. Chairwoman Barbara Boxer vowed to pull out all the stops to hold the vote this week, and ailing Sen. Frank Lautenberg said he planned to attend so that all 10 of the committee’s Democrats can be there. Darren Goode, Andrew Restuccia and Erica Martinson, with their powers combined, have more: http://politico.pro/10rI5mP

Who will be there: Look for all 10 committee Democrats. From the Republican side, Sens. David Vitter, John Boozman, John Barrasso and Jim Inhofe have all said they're attending, and many plan to vote against McCarthy (Inhofe said he never knows how he will vote "till 10 minutes before it happens.").

If you go: Noon, Dirksen 406

THAT’LL SHOW ‘EM: Two Twitter handles run by Organizing for Action, @BarackObama and @OFA, both tweeted last night about the EPW Republicans. From @BarackObama: “Seven senators blocking #Gina4EPA are also climate deniers. Fed up? Call them out: http://OFA.BO/KnJqB8”

WHITMAN: EPW GOP ‘SORE LOSERS’: Committee Republicans’ walk-out was a bad strategy, Bush-era EPA chief Christine Todd Whitman tells the National Journal. “They looked like sore losers when they walked out the way they did,” Whitman said. “I do give them credit for having a broader strategy than just that. They are trying to paint a portrait, but I don’t see walking out like that as a successful way of doing it.” NJ: http://bit.ly/13xnXkb

SHOW ME THE MONIZ: Ernest Moniz is set to get his vote in the Senate today at around 2 p.m., after as much as three hours of debate — and it’s looking like relatively smooth sailing for the Energy secretary nominee. Moniz’s nomination had been held up over a disagreement between South Carolina’s senators and the White House over funding for a nuclear project in the Palmetto State.

ALSO TODAY — T&I MARKS UP KXL BILL: The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will vote on H.R. 3, the GOP’s bill approving the Keystone XL pipeline. The committee was set to vote on the measure last Thursday, but postponed the meeting when it looked like the markup could drag into members’ three-day weekend with a number of amendments. Today’s vote is at 9:30 a.m. in Rayburn 2167.

Playing it cool: There’s virtually no chance the committee will vote down the measure — but Chairman Bill Shuster, presiding over his first markup, isn’t counting his eggs before they hatch. "I feel relatively confident,” he told Pro’s Adam Snider yesterday. “You never know 'til you know and count everyone, but I think we're in good shape.” H.R. 3 has cleared the Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources Committees with no Republican “nays” — plus five Democratic “yeas.”

— While many Democrats have pointed to the recent spill from an unrelated pipeline in Arkansas as reason to deny the pipeline from moving forward on safety grounds, don’t expect to hear any hesitation from Shuster. “Pipelines are the safest and most cost-effective means to transport the products that fuel our economy,” the Pennsylvania Republican will say in his opening remarks. “In our recent hearings on the movement of goods, I think we have all emphasized that we want to encourage a transportation system that is safe and efficient. And the fact of the matter is, pipelines are both the safest and most efficient method of transporting oil.”

KXL WILL SAVE LIVES, N.D. OFFICIAL SAYS: Keystone XL would save three to six lives per year as a result of fewer accidents in truck traffic, North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms says. Forum News Service: http://bit.ly/13xYYNN

ENR HOLDS MARKUP AS WELL: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee meets today for a markup on 30 bills, including hydropower, geothermal and helium legislation. The panel is also set to green-light a bill creating the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, a longtime goal of former Chairman Jeff Bingaman.

TESLA PLANS SHARE SALE TO PAY OFF DOE LOAN: Tesla Motors is planning to raise $830 million in new shares and securities (about $100 million will be bought by founder Elon Musk) — and some of that money will go toward paying off the company’s $465 million DOE loan. About $440 million of that loan is still outstanding, The New York Times writes. “The cash from the loan also gives Tesla an important cushion to fall back on if its young operations stutter. During the investor call last week, Mr. Musk did say the company might tap markets to protect itself against “some sort of risk event.” While buying time for Tesla, the decision to raise cash could also end up emboldening critics who said they believed that Tesla was going to experience weak cash flows from its operations this year.” NYT: http://nyti.ms/16hQPRb

** A message from America's Natural Gas Alliance: The safe and responsible development of natural gas supports more than 2.8 million jobs across the country. Curious what the economic benefit is for your state? Find out by using our interactive U.S. map at http://bit.ly/TIZPJJ. **

TODAY’S FERC MEETING: FERC will consider its fourth round of compliance filings for the agency's 2011 cost allocation and transmission planning Order 1000 as part of a lengthy agenda for its monthly meeting today. Public utilities were required to submit their filings in October. Plans submitted by companies in New England and the Northwest will be before the commission leadership this morning. The panel will also decide on a rule related to new electric reliability standards addressing the impacts of geomagnetic disturbances. The meeting starts at 10 a.m. at FERC HQ, 888 First St. NE. Live webcast: http://1.usa.gov/y00BJo

HOUSE PANEL MEETS ON OIL, GAS PRODUCTION ON FEDERAL LANDS: Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Resources panel probably won’t agree with BOEM Director Tommy Beaudreau that the Obama administration “through its policies, priorities, and project work, has taken a balanced approach, and it is an approach that works.” Beaudreau, testifying at a hearing on oil and gas production on federal lands and waters, touts what the administration has called successes and Republicans have called unbearably restricting, including a five-year plan for offshore lease sales, a plan for drilling the National Petroleum Reserve — Alaska and federal coal lease sales. The hearing’s at 10:30 a.m. in Rayburn 2154

BPC LAUNCHES GRID CYBERSECURITY EFFORT: The Bipartisan Policy Center today will launch the Electric Grid Cyber Security Initiative to tackle a problem that has increasingly become a concern on the Hill and at agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and FERC. The initiative will be chaired by former CIA and NSA Director Michael Hayden, former FERC Chairman Curt Hebert and former Assistant Energy Secretary Sue Tierney. “The electric power sector has already made important progress in addressing cybersecurity,” Tierney said. “Given how important electric system reliability is to the nation’s economy, along with its interdependence with other sectors, such as telecommunications and natural gas pipelines, the electric system makes it an interesting case study for cyber security governance.” More: http://bit.ly/YXwRrI

AAF RELEASES ENERGY PAPER SERIES, MAPS: The American Action Forum, a conservative think tank run by former Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Holtz-Eakin, is out today with interactive maps showing state-by-state breakdowns on sources of electricity and production of oil, coal and natural gas. AAF is also launching a series of papers called "Fuel for Thought," with more analysis of the information, starting with the natural gas boom and fracking. The paper, written by AAF Director of Energy Policy Catrina Rorke, concludes that the drop in coal use and low natural gas prices are pushing the industry’s growth: http://bit.ly/102970U

THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE: From ME’s mailbag:

— The Interior Department’s proposed fracking rule needs beefing up, green groups wrote to the agency yesterday. “While we recognize that not every issue can be addressed in a single rulemaking, it is essential that the issues covered under this rulemaking be addressed comprehensively and that rulemakings be immediately launched on remaining critical issues,” NRDC, the Sierra Club, American Rivers and more write: http://bit.ly/10GXGM8

— The senators working on nuclear waste legislation should make sure to include support for transitioning from poll storage to dry casks, a storage method many say is safer, the BlueGreen Alliance writes. “We believe that addressing this problem creates a unique opportunity to ramp up domestic manufacturing of safer, less vulnerable dry storage casks, potentially creating thousands of quality jobs.” Letter: http://politico.pro/13mvG14

GOT 99 PROBLEMS AND CLIMATE CHANGE IS NO. 1: Climate change is former Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s biggest problem, he says in a Q-and-A with Stanford University, where he has joined the faculty after recently stepping down. “We're heading into an era where if we don't change what we're doing, we're going to be fundamentally in really deep trouble. We're already in trouble,” he says. “It takes decades to change things like infrastructure, and so people have to think about that today. Otherwise, progress slows down, and we emit more carbon and get into more trouble environmentally.” http://stanford.io/12yIJhb

Maybe it just felt like six years… Stanford errs on Chu’s tenure as Energy secretary, stating he is coming down off a six-year stint at the top of the agency. While Chu does hold the record for longest-serving Energy secretary, he was only in the position for four years, three months and two days.

— The European Commission is stepping up its inquiry into potential manipulation of oil and biofuel prices. New York Times: http://nyti.ms/YKFCDr

— A survey of 4,000 academic papers published over 20 years finds 97 percent support anthropogenic climate change. The Guardian: http://bit.ly/16ABU3Z

THAT’S ALL FOR ME. Have a great day.

** A message from America's Natural Gas Alliance: We believe in a clean energy future. Natural gas is a cleaner energy choice and a key partner to solar and wind technologies. From California to Florida, natural gas facilities are working with renewable energy to ensure steady, affordable and cleaner energy choices for communities across our nation. Because it is an abundant and affordable energy source available right here in America, natural gas can help make the promise of cleaner energy a reality in more American communities. Natural gas is smarter power today. Visit anga.us to learn more. **